Eli Lilly and company: A transformation journey “on equal footing” (A)
When Simone Thomsen took over as General Manager of Eli Lilly and Company, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, the last thing her new team wanted from her was yet another vision. The organization had faced new leaders every two or three years, each with a new vision, and many reorganizations and restructurings. They were fed up and felt misunderstood. But their performance had not been good and the future was going to be even more difficult. It was clear to Thomsen that simply doing the same things, only a little better, wouldn’t be enough. A transformation was needed. Her objective was to get the company back on track and show it could grow and be profitable. Then the organization might accept yet another new vision, and, she hoped, her team might even accept to create a new vision themselves. They did, and it would require a radical transformation to achieve. They committed themselves to becoming the most humane and customer-centric pharmaceutical company in Austria, Switzerland and Germany by 2020.
- How to effectively lead an inclusive visioning process and inspire an organization that is tired of visions and suffering from change fatigue.
Eli Lilly, Health Care, Pharmaceuticals
2014 to 2019
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
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